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Testimony from Arise’s Kimble Forrister on cigarette tax increase
Arise’s Kimble Forrister testified before the House’s General Fund budget committee Tuesday, May 5, 2015, about HB 572, which would increase Alabama’s cigarette tax by 25 cents per pack. The committee approved the bill along with several other tax measures. Here’s the full text of Forrister’s prepared remarks: “Alabama Arise has changed its position on the [...]
Handbook
The Alabama Tax & Budget Handbook
We’re all in this together. All of us – regardless of age, health, wealth, background or location – depend on a network of services from our local, state and national governments. From garbage collection to fire protection, from roads to schools, from public health to public safety, our tax dollars support the daily upkeep of [...]
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Testimony from Arise’s Kimble Forrister on ‘flat tax’ proposal
Arise's Kimble Forrister testified before the state Senate's education budget committee Wednesday, April 29, 2015, about SB 409. The bill would raise income taxes on the lowest-paid Alabamians but cut taxes for the top 1 percent by thousands of dollars on average. The committee carried the bill over at the sponsor's request, but it could return [...]
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‘Flat tax’ plan could raise income taxes on lowest-paid Alabamians
Alabamians struggling to make ends meet could have to pay state income tax on the first $100 they earn under a new “flat tax” proposal that the Senate’s education budget committee considered Wednesday. SB 409 would eliminate all personal exemptions and standard deductions and require an 80 percent majority of both the state House and [...]
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Alabama Supreme Court clears way for statewide payday loan database
A single decision by the Alabama Supreme Court may cut the number of payday lenders in the state by half. In a holding without a written opinion, the court affirmed Friday that the state Banking Department has the authority to require lenders to use a common statewide databaseto help enforce Alabama’s cap on total payday loan [...]
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Alabama crossroads: We need new revenue
We all want to live in a healthy, secure and prosperous state. Alabama is taking important steps toward that goal now, but deep General Fund budget cuts could undo that progress. Medicaid’s new regional care organizations will keep patients healthier while cutting costs. Prison system improvements will protect Alabamians while lowering costs and helping former inmates transition back [...]
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Bills to reform payday lending, change Accountability Act clear Alabama legislative committees
Alabama borrowers would have much longer to repay payday loans under a bill that emerged from a state Senate committee Wednesday. SB 335, sponsored by Sen. Slade Blackwell, R-Mountain Brook, now awaits action by the full Senate. Blackwell’s bill would bring substantial reform to the payday loan industry in Alabama. It would extend the length [...]
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Prison reform bill would end Alabama’s food assistance ban for former drug offenders
The sweeping prison reform bill that the Alabama Senate passed Thursday was amended to include one of Arise’s legislative priorities: ending the state’s SNAP and TANF eligibility bans for people with a past felony drug conviction. Senators voted 31-2 for SB 67, sponsored by Sen. Cam Ward, R-Alabaster. The measure now goes to the House, [...]
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HIV medication redistribution bill wins Alabama House committee approval
Pharmacies that distribute HIV medications for or in HIV clinics could redistribute certain unopened drugs under a bill approved Thursday by the House Health Committee. HB 247, sponsored by Rep. Patricia Todd, D-Birmingham, awaits action in the full House. An identical bill passed the House 99-0 last year but died when the Senate adjourned without [...]
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Plan to write ETF spending limit into state constitution wins Alabama Senate panel’s approval
The Rolling Reserve Act’s education spending limit would be written into the Alabama Constitution under a measure that the state Senate’s education budget committee approved 8-4 Wednesday. SB 248, sponsored by Sen. Trip Pittman, R-Montrose, now awaits action by the full Senate. Pittman, who chairs the Senate’s education budget committee, defended his proposal from criticism [...]